Unseen by Kharouf or his ghastly guards, Jafar al-Sharif walked quietly up behind the wizard and stood with his hand on the hilt of his saif. One quick stroke would do the deed; the wizard would never know what had hit him, and without his willpower to animate the corpses, his army in the field would simply collapse, giving the victory to the Buryani.
But Jafar al-Sharif hesitated. He’d never killed a man before and it was a frightening thought. An inborn sense of honor also told him he could not strike a man down unaware, even with so many lives at stake on the field below. He at least must try to convince Kharouf to surrender peacefully before relying on the ultimate solution.
Taking a deep breath to hide the nervousness in his voice, he said in his deepest tones, “Your hour of defeat
